Sick and Loving It
by ShadowWeasel
Summary: Nagato was absent today. No big deal. Haruhi wants me to go find her. No big deal. It turns out that Nagato actually got sick. Kind of a big deal. Seriously, who knew that was even a thing? Definitely not me. But taking care of her for a while shouldn't be a problem, right? Right?


"Where's Yuki?" the question came from Haruhi. Her lips were puckered up and her arms were crossed across her chest.

The clubroom replied with silence. Mikuru, clad in her rather fetching maid's costume, didn't make eye-contact as she continued to pour more tea into my cup. It was full enough already, but if letting her pour meant I got to keep looking at her...

"Haven't seen her, I'm afraid," Koizumi said with a shrug. Same old dumb grin on his same old dumb face. "Perhaps she stayed home."

I went to take a sip of my tea, but Miss Asahina was still pouring. It was starting to get a little _too _full.

"Mikuru," our leader snapped, her brunette hair bobbing as she whirled around. "Have you seen Yuki today?"

The redhead jumped and nearly spilled her pot of tea. "N-no," she stuttered nervously, "I haven't seen her today... sorry."

Okay. Now the cup was way too full. I went to say something and stop Mikuru before something happened-...

"Kyon!"

I leapt in surprise and consequently sent my glass of tea tumbling down and off the table and onto my pants. I cursed loudly and felt my skin boil beneath the fabric of my slacks. Just what I get for trying to prevent an accident.

"What?" I asked, swallowing my frustration and embarrassment as Mikuru blushed brightly and scurried away for a towel. So cute.

"Where's Yuki?" Haruhi pried, her eyes gleaming hopefully as she spoke.

"How should I know?" I retorted. I wasn't her keeper. Besides, I hadn't seen her all day. Normally, I'd have caught her sitting in a corner somewhere, bathed in shadow, engrossed in the seven-millionth or so book of the day. I wondered silently if Nagato still wore her glasses when she wasn't being watched. Maybe it helped her read. Maybe she needed the corrective lenses. Maybe I just have a glasses-fetish after all.

"God!" the girl exclaimed in resignation, unaware of the terrible irony. She pursed her lips together and made a horse-sigh as she exhaled. "Where is that girl? If she doesn't show up soon, that means that I've been lugging this third costume around for nothing!"

Costume? Something for Miss Asahina? "And what, praytell, was the costume?" I asked, feigning indifference.

The captain of the SOS Brigade beamed with excitement and raised a bag out from beneath her desk, eager to present her latest scheme involving suggestive cosplay. Like a child ready to brag about the cool thing that they brought for show-and-tell. Then, Haruhi's fanged, mischievous grin vanished and was replaced with an angry snarl.

"Oh no, you don't!" she declared, hiding the bag behind her back and pouting.

Oh no I don't what, exactly? "What are you talking about?"

"Your perverted little brain thinks it can outsmart me, huh?"

"What the hell are you-?"

"I'll tell you what; since you want to see us in these outfits so bad, how about this? We'll only begin my plan and put them on after _you _find Yuki!"

Slow down, Haruhi. It's three in the afternoon and I just shut my brain off for the night. "You're going way too fast. For starters, I never said that I wanted to see you in... whatever the heck you brought. Second of all..."

That was about the time that God got fed-up with negotiating. She stretched an arm across her desk and over to me and grabbed me by my tie. With that, she dragged me close to her face, yours truly choking and struggling all the way.

"Listen up, Kyon," she growled. "If you don't go and find Yuki this instant, you'll get a penalty!"

And so, with my life officially on the line, I began my valiant quest to locate the elusive Nagato. For no other reason besides Haruhi wanting to use her body for devious purposes. Chivalry be damned, I suppose.

...

I arrived at Nagato's apartment with relative quickness. I figured that if I at least checked her house, Haruhi couldn't kill me on the grounds that I hadn't tried. The air around me was chilled and muffled with leaves, and the scarf I wore barely kept the cold from wrapping itself around my neck in its frozen embrace. With a sigh that painted the pale breeze gray, I wandered up to the apartment complex.

I recalled Nagato's apartment number and made my way up and to her door. As I knocked, I made a feeble attempt at thinking of what exactly I would say should the girl in question actually come to the door.

_Hey, Nagato. Haruhi was looking for... _no, that's no good. _Say, God was asking where you were, so I figured... _still no good. _Suzumiya has something kinky for you to wear, and she sent me to... _what the hell? I'd just have to wing it. Nagato had been relatively easy to talk to in the past. This would be no different.

Boy, was I wrong.

On the fifth knock, the door was suddenly opened. And low and behold, Yuki Nagato stood in the doorway. In her pajamas.

There she was, clad in chalk-white, polka-dotted PJs. Her small hands barely escaped the sleeves of her top, and her icy toes were still upon the hardwood floor beneath us. Nagato's purple hair was ruffled, and her caramel eyes were rimmed with rings of pink and red veins. Even her usually snow-white skin was discolored; her nose was glowing a shockingly vibrant scarlet.

Unsure of how to react to the strange sight, I waited in silence for an explanation.

Then she sniffled. "I am ill," she proclaimed in a nasally monotone parody of her true voice.

"I..." I hesitated, thrown completely off-guard. Robots can get sick? "I see."

There was another pause as Nagato sniffed again and wiped her raw nose with her elbow. This explained the hell out of why she hadn't been at school today. She'd come down with a cold. But a cold? Seriously, Nagato? Of all the mortal diseases to contract, you end up with a...

"May I help you?" the voice my brain still didn't recognize as Nagato's asked.

In my state of surprise, I had actually forgotten why I had come over in the first place. "Oh, right. Uh... Haruhi wanted to know where you were, and... well, she sent me to check up on you."

Another period of silence.

"I am ill," she eventually repeated.

"Right," I told her. "I got that part."

"What more do you wish to know?" she queried.

I thought about that. I really hadn't planned on what I would do if I had actually found Nagato. I suppose I had simply assumed that she was... I don't know, off saving the universe, or analyzing data, or something. "I guess nothing," I admitted with a shrug.

Yuki looked at me quietly, her hands limp at her sides. She sniffed again. "Would you like some tea?"

"Well," I almost said yes, but stopped myself. What was I doing? The girl was sick, for God's sake. "No, thanks."

She nodded in understanding, made another sound with her nose, and then went to close the door.

I turned on my heel and went to leave. Back to the clubroom. I'd just tell Haruhi that Yuki was sick. Then I could go back to... wait. No. No going back to anything. If I went back empty-handed, it was a penalty for sure. And knowing Suzumiya, it might not amount to death, but it would definitely amount to a small fortune of sorts. Not to mention that there was nothing for me to do in the clubroom to begin with. Play cards with Itskue, maybe, but that would get very boring, very fast. And with a pissed-off Haruhi chewing on my ears...

"Wait, Nagato!" I almost shouted as I whirled around to change my mind.

She had nearly closed the door, and only the left side of her face was visible from where I stood. One golden-brown eye gazed at me innocently from behind the oak.

"I," I started, hesitated, and then continued, "I would like some tea, after all. I'm kind of thirsty."

Nagato only nodded in reply, leaving the door open for me to let myself in.

...

Her home was about the same as it had been that night she told me about Suzumiya and her powers. Well, aside from the grotesque amount of used tissues, the apartment appeared almost identical.

When I entered, I saw Yuki struggling to grasp a cup off the kitchen counter. Immediately, a feeling of total shame and shock came over me. The poor girl couldn't even lift a cup. Literally.

Twice did Nagato reach for the empty glass, and twice did her fingers suddenly convulse and drop the thing with a sharp clatter.

"N-Nagato," I insisted, walking to her side and picking the cup up myself, "let me. God, you really are sick." Instinctively, I pressed my free hand to her forehead and felt for a fever. Then I instinctively jerked away when my fingers sensed her searing-hot flesh. "Oh my God! Are you alright?"

Yuki looked at me emotionlessly, as per usual. "I am ill."

"I mean... you're burning up. Are you okay?"

"I am ill."

"Why is your skin so hot, I mean?"

"My body is overheating in an attempt to repair itself. I am ill."

I get that you're sick, Nagato... "Look," I told her, "let me make the tea. You should go lie down. Okay?"

She blinked. Made some noise with her nose. Then she wandered off to her room.

With an inward sigh, I prepared the drinks. When I wanted to get out of going back to the clubroom, I hadn't expected to be taking care of a sick android. Not that I really cared, mind you. It just wasn't in the plan. Then again, I'm sure that Nagato didn't plan on coming down with a cold, either.

In a matter of minutes, I was knocking on her bedroom door and playing doctor. "Nagato? The tea's done. Can I come in?"

"Enter," was her response.

I did so, and I watched her stand from her bed to greet me. Well, attempt to stand. She got up halfway, stumbled, got up again, and then her knees buckled and she collapsed upon her mat and blankets. All the while with that same stoic expression on her reddening face.

"Hold on," I ordered, "stay there, okay? Try not to walk around so much."

She blinked at me with her head on its side, doing as I had said and refusing to move. I walked over to her carefully, afraid she might spasm and combust at any moment.

"Here." I offered over the cup of tea. "This should help." Said who? I wasn't a doctor, let alone a mechanical-engineer. Would Nagato even be considered mechanical? I had no idea.

I laid the tray down beside her bed and propped one of her pillows up behind her head. I read somewhere that you need to elevate the body when there's a problem with the sinuses. Or was that for stomach-pain?

Yuki leaned backward and onto the pillow, which was comically larger than her head. Not that the pillow was big, it was that she was small. I smirked involuntarily when the sides of her head and ears sank into the fluffy void beneath her.

"Thank you," she said with another nose-noise.

"It's no problem," I told her. Hell, it felt sort of good taking care of a cute girl when she was sick. Maybe it made me feel more masculine or something. "Here. Drink some of this and get some sleep."

Nagato carefully brought the cup to her lips. Her fingers noticeably shook as she drank, accidentally spilling droplets of tea onto her shirt. She paused, took a deep breath through her mouth, and then continued to slurp. It's hard to imagine a quiet girl like her slurping, but just try. It's kind of funny.

Then she set the beverage aside and folded her hands over her stomach. Her bloodshot eyes fluttered closed.

God, she looked peaceful. Sometimes I wish I could be that content. I'm always too busy thinking about what Haruhi's going to do next, what I'll have to do to keep her in the dark, what-...

I stopped.

Well, maybe Yuki and I weren't that different after all. I tucked her blanket over her body, made sure to keep her fingers and toes covered and warm, and then sat down beside her.

What time was it? I didn't really care. I'd get home in enough time. It was the club-meeting I was worried about. If Haruhi were to catch me on the street after the meeting, she'd kill me for sure. And no, that's not called being paranoid. That's called the fear of God.

So I sat for a little while longer, simply staring off into the distance. Occasionally, my eyes fell upon the sleeping face of one Yuki Nagato, and I would quickly look away. Why did she have to be so cute?

After a while, of course, I was damned by my own humanity as my eyelids grew warm and heavy. The darkness was a sight for sore eyes...

...

I awoke to the steady rise and fall of Yuki's small chest. My ear was hot and sore from leaning against her for so long. My eyelids peeled open slowly, and my eyes met with a pair of curious gold orbs. It took me a full five seconds to figure out where I was before I leapt from my place on the floor and scuttled away.

Yuki watched me panic with an odd look on her face.

I was babbling like an idiot as she sat up to look at me. "I-I'm so sorry! I must've fallen asleep or... I-I didn't mean to..."

She was silent.

I swallowed hard and stopped talking.

Then she sniffled. "You fell asleep approximately one hour ago, and your body instinctively chose to rest against the softest surface near its position. It is nothing to apologize for."

I sighed with relief. But then I thought of something peculiar. How did she know that I had fallen asleep an hour ago? Did Yuki sleep with one eye open, or was she... awake the whole time and she just didn't care?

My face flushed red at the thought. Don't be so full of yourself, Kyon.

"It's late," I babbled even more, not really even sure of the time. "I should get going."

Nagato sniffled again and stood, her knees wobbling as she did so. I instinctively held out my arm for her to lean on. She stumbled towards me and clasped her tiny hands around my shoulder. The back of my neck flared with the sensation that one only gets when he's being held by a cute girl.

She gazed up at me quietly. "Thank you for your assistance. I should be operating at my fullest capacity by tomorrow."

I forced a smile, nervous as hell with her face so close to mine. "Yeah? Cool."

There was a moment of quiet as we stared into each other's eyes. Her little red nose glowed vibrantly next to my own reddening face. Those honey-colored eyes looked deeply into mine and turned my insides to mush.

Then I kissed her. Quickly and softly. Unthinking. On the nose.

"Get well soon, Nagato," I told her in a hushed tone, barely managing a whisper.

Yuki slowly blinked at me. Her electric-gold eyes watched me silently as I awkwardly made my way to her door. My hand was on the knob when I heard her sniffling behind me.

I turned to see her inches from my body, her pale fingers wrapped weakly around my hand. We looked at each other for what felt like hours. God, did I feel stupid. I knew I'd done something wrong. Whatever it was, I wasn't sure. But I knew that Nagato would tell me soon enough, and I braced myself for a slew of technological rambling.

Then she shocked me by planting her lips on my cheek. It was a swift action that lasted maybe a fraction of a second, and because she had to stand on the tips of her toes in order to reach me, the contact was lighter than being brushed with a feather. Of course, that feather had to have been plucked straight from an angel's wing, or else it wouldn't have felt so damned amazing.

I looked at Yuki Nagato with wide eyes and pulsing energy in my knees. Her lips parted just so as she spoke to me, her voice barely a rasping croak that I could scarcely hear over the pounding of my heart.

"Get well soon, Kyon."

Needless to say, I was confused as hell. That was until I felt the itching in my nose and the scratching in my throat. And the coughing sneeze that escaped my mouth shortly after she said that provided sudden understanding. Damn it.

I closed the door behind me and sniffed loudly. "Just what I get for kissing someone as cute as Nagato..."


End file.
